After Wake, Tar Heels fall to Miami

Thursday

Jan 9, 2014 at 12:01 AMJan 9, 2014 at 12:17 AM

Adam Smith/Halifax Media Services

CHAPEL HILL – His team’s 63-57 loss to Miami having stamped an 0-2 start in the Atlantic Coast Conference into North Carolina’s new reality, Roy Williams qualified the level of depression that’s weighing on the Tar Heels. This is the worst ever, the glassy-eyed and emotional coach said Wednesday night at the Smith Center.

“I do feel mentally probably worse than I’ve ever felt as a head coach right now,” Williams said. “That also shows what a blessed life I’ve had.”

It’s nowhere in the vicinity of rosy right now for North Carolina (10-5 overall, 0-2 ACC), winless after two games in the league for the second time in as many seasons and with a trip to No. 2 Syracuse looming on Saturday. The Tar Heels led Miami (9-6, 1-2) by an 8-0 margin early, before becoming befuddled and unglued in managing a season-low scoring total – and ultimately sinking from bad to worse following Sunday night’s disconnected loss at Wake Forest. Forward Brice Johnson emerged from the North Carolina locker room and was asked to describe the mood.

“Silent,” he said. “We’re all disappointed in the effort we gave. We’ve got to do better.”

Rion Brown’s 19 points and 10 rebounds and Erik Swoope’s career-high 14 points off the bench paced the Hurricanes, who never trailed after the 5:47 mark of the first half. Meanwhile, James Michael McAdoo’s 12 points and 12 rebounds led North Carolina, which time and again failed to solve Miami’s zone defense – a haunting thought considering that Syracuse employs zone as its preeminent weapon. North Carolina leading scorer Marcus Paige struggled again for a second game in a row. His eight-point performance equaled his season low from Sunday and his 3-for-12 shooting from the field became emblematic of the problems for the Tar Heels, who shot 30.8 percent from the field.

“We didn’t move effectively,” Johnson said. “When you don’t move and you stand in one place, you just strengthen their defense.”

North Carolina, scrambling and trapping on defense and operating in rally mode, rode bubbles of momentum to within 47-43 of Miami with 5:20 remaining and 57-52 with 52.3 seconds left. The Hurricanes delivered answered that silenced this building’s urgings each time, first on Tonye Jekiri’s dunk and Swoope’s press-breaking three-point play, and later on an over-the-top pass to Brown, alone and beyond the Tar Heels’ full-court pressure.

“The first three or four minutes it was easy,” Williams said. “We were running up and down the court. We didn’t get stops after that and then all of a sudden our running game stopped and then it got much harder.”

Miami led 29-23 at intermission after North Carolina’s lowest first half of the season. The Tar Heels’ Leslie McDonald splashed in a 3-pointer that felt like an important moment with 25.3 seconds left in the first half. But then Garrius Adams rattled in a 3 at the buzzer on Miami’s ensuing possession. North Carolina managed just nine points in the last 11:44 of the first half, as Williams spent much of that time period standing, arms crossed, in a clenched posture.

Brown had 11 points and six rebounds by halftime for the Hurricanes. Joel James returned to the North Carolina starting lineup after missing four games and most of a fifth with a knee injury. He seemed poised to make an impact by scoring four early points and crashing the boards, but was ejected 89 seconds into the second half.

After consulting the replay monitor, game officials ruled the 6-foot-10, 280-pound James committed a Flagrant 2 foul by whacking Brown with a clear-out elbow. James exited down the tunnel to the Tar Heels’ locker room. Brown headed down the opposite tunnel and returned with a bandage beneath his left eye.